(Caffeinated) Knitting keeps me (chemically) balanced.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

There is nothing you cannot do if you put your mind to it. A new moon on your birthday, along with a Mars-Saturn aspect that gives your willpower a boost, means that the higher you aim the more you will achieve, so stop thinking about yesterday's failures and get busy on tomorrow's successes. You still have a glorious future.

See, even my horoscope knows that I didn't get Olympic Gold but that I'll finish my sweater! I only had two hours with it last night and will have about the same tonight, so I won't post a picture of St. Moritz because it won't seem much different.

But, I will post a photo of some of the yummy things that I got for my birthday. I LOVE the PG Tips canister that Amber brought back for me from the UK. Notice also the Starbucks coffee card, mug and chocolate covered espresso beans. At least one of my passions was fed today. I did get $$ and instructions to purchase yarn when I go to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands in a few weeks. I WILL follow those instructions to the letter.

Lots of fun to continue. But, note the color of the mug. Can you say "Green is making a comeback."!?!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

I am not posting a photo of my progress today, since you've seen it all BEFORE. Look at last week Friday's post. I'm travelling the same bit of road, though a bit more wisely. Harlot called it "the black hole" and Dharia called it "dimensional warp". There's just no better way to describe the monotony of 294 stitches going round and round for 75 rows! (If you think it's boring once, try doing it TWICE!)

So for today, I will discuss my other obsession: caffeine. I require a daily infusion of high octane caffeine. Without it, I experience the wildest, mind-splitting headache imaginable! To avoid self inflicted pain, I make sure that I get my daily dose...just like taking thyroid meds. I imagine someday I'll be in the hospital and there will be a note posted next to my thyroid orders that states, "to avoid headaches, please administer daily doses of caffeine"

As with yarn, I am also a bit of a snob when it comes to caffeine. Nothing fancy or flavored...unless it's a Lite White Berry Latte from Caribou Coffee...I prefer lattes with skim milk and a dash of nutmeg on top or a plain ol' cup of Joe with cream (not powdered creamer, not milk, but 1/2 and 1/2). I have a coffee maker with an automatic start that has my coffee ready and waiting for me each morning when I arrive in the kitchen. Thank you my friend.

There are two inexplicable things about our household coffee preparations. My husband sets up the coffee maker each night. Why is it that the moment the aroma of the evening set-up wafts into the living room, I DESIRE a cup right then? (Fight the urge to press "start".) AND... Why is it that I always think that he makes a better cup of coffeeI?! Does it follow the same rules as for sandwiches? They always taste better when someone else makes them as well.

We have been in our house five years now and I think it's time to give the kitchen a fresh coat of paint. I've been leaning towards a coffee themed kitchen. Now I'll wait for warmer weather to take down wallpaper and begin painting. In the meantime, I found this great Flickr photo album of coffee cups that plays on my kitchen computer. (*Personal note to Sue- have Amber check this out. I think it would make a great photo essay for her.)

Before I resume knitting, I'll leave you with a link. In case you were worried that I may cause damage to myself with caffeine, you need not worry. Someone has created the Death by Caffeine indicator (*link corrected). I now know that it would take 292 Starbucks grande non-fat lattes to kill me in one sitting. Personally, I don't have enough $$$ for 292 of them in a single sitting. My discretionary funds are tied up in yarn. Hey, a girl has got to set some fiscal priorities!